Since the Reagan administration, the image of the U.S. in the world has deteriorated substantially. Why? Corporations now rule the White House, and Democrat Bill Clinton also has plenty of this dirt on his hands. But the neocons since Reagan have taken it to new heights. We are losing what we love about the United States of America. John McCain, a staunch supporter of the military-industrial complex with all its greed and horrors, would continue this slide downward.

"The rule of radical market ideology that began with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan has ended in a loud bang. The world is holding its breath, but also breathing a sigh of relief. The new time that is dawning now must become our time -- the time of social democracy." -German Vice Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier

"The federal government is a vast corporate welfare program, rewarding the industries that give millions of dollars in political donations with contracts that are worth billions. In order to justify the enormous expense, the administration must exaggerate the threats of nuclear war." -The Guardian Weekly, 8-29-08

"The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should therefore be hushed. A sentiment more unworthy of a free country could hardly be propagated. If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny." -William Ellery Channing

In Iraq today and since the U.S. invasion, there are 4 million orphans, out of a population of 28 million Iraqis. Over 50,000 Iraqi children have been killed by U.S. "smart" bombs -- that obviously have been misdirected. -"Worldwide WAMM", 10-08

"Half the Iraqi population is under the age of 15. These kids really need something to do." -President Bush's deputy undersecretary of defense for business transformation explaining plans for the construction in Baghdad of a massive Disney-like amusement park featuring hotels, lagoons, rides, etc. A Los Angeles-based private equity firm will put up $500 million to build the enterprise on a 50-acre plot adjacent to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. (Source: Jim Hightower's LOWDOWN, June, 2008)

"We can't let little countries screw around with big companies like this -- companies that have made big investments around the world." -a Chevron lobbyist speaking about a lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of indigenous Ecuadorian peasants over the dumping of billions of gallons of toxic oil wastes into their region's rivers and streams. Chevron is pressuring the Bush administration to eliminate special trade preferences for Ecuador if its government doesn't quash the case. (Source: Newsweek)